Warm Fuzzies

Spring Chickens!

It's been a while since I've finished a crochet project, hasn't it?  I'm not sure exactly why, but I find that I seem to crochet a lot more during spring and summer time, and switch to knitting during fall and winter.  Weird, huh?  At any rate, I'm finally convinced that it's really spring because in addition to it being gorgeous outside, I've completed my first crochet project of the year.  Behold my new kitchen decor:

Not just one, but two spring chickens! 

The big, round chicken is a potholder that, quite honestly, I probably won't use much because I'm terrified of the inevitable: the bit of food that would fall just so on my beautiful white chicken, staining her forever.  Oh, the horror!  She works pretty well as wall art anyway, right?

And then there's the little shelf doll.  I call her Florence.  Or just Flo.  Depends on my mood.  I just love her little apron!  She was lots of fun to make, and although you can't see in this picture, she has a pretty feathered tail, too.  She keeps me company when I do the dishes.

The pattern that I used to make both chickens was available for free on this site last year, but it appears that they've taken it down.  Phooey.   I'm not exactly sure which crochet magazine the original pattern appeared in, but in case anyone's interested, I did a quick internet search, and was able to find this eBay listing for the pattern, cut out from the magazine in which it was originally printed (although the price for shipping's a bit steep).

Illustration Friday: Citrus

Here's a little something that I painted in Photoshop for this week's Illustration Friday.  I tried a more graphic, contemporary style this time around, and had lots of fun playing with the polygon lasso tool.  I first tried to paint her eye open, but it turned out a bit too freaky-looking for me.  I gave up after my third try and painted a closed eye instead.  I think the illo would read a bit better with an open eye, so someday, I'll come back and fiddle with it again.  But that day's not today, hehe.



I did another quick illustration, for the "citrus" theme, using a similar palette of colors.  Oscar just loves the smell of oranges, and sometimes he's lucky enough to get a small piece for a treat.  The illustration shows a rabbit (Oscar, perhaps?  hehe) looking up at a fruiting orange tree.  I think I am going to paint it on canvas, and hang it in Oscar's corner of the apartment.

A New Beginning

So, it's official.  I started my new job this Monday.  I have to commute all the way to the southern tip of Brooklyn, which takes about 90-100 minutes for me each way.  I figured that I would be able to sit down and get a bit of crafting or reading done during my commute...boy was I wrong.  The trains are incredibly crowded in early morning, and moreso in the evening.  I'm lucky if I get a seat during the last 30 minutes of the commute.  Haha, that pretty much throws my plans right out the window.  Oh, the things I would have made!  These things happen.  So...my hunt for some good audiobooks begins.

The people that I worked with previously got me a card, which they all signed, and flowers on my last day of work.  Many people came to me personally to wish me well.  The gesture made me a little misty-eyed.  I will definitely miss all the wonderful people that I was able to meet and work with.  Truly.

During the weekend, I went down to Union Square and purchased some organically grown herbs and planted them in a window box.  Guess who they're for??  Hehe.

Although I'm definitely excited about having fresh herbs on hand for cooking, I'm more excited thinking about how happy Oscar will be when he has a variety of fresh organically grown herbs to eat.  He frequently visits the kitchen in anticipation of getting a little taste of the herbs in addition to the other greens that have been gradually introduced into his diet.

Meanwhile, the lazy little bunny's been keeping me company by my feet when I use the computer in the early mornings, before I leave for work.  I know he doesn't look all that excited about the herbs right now (given my lack of a green thumb), but believe me, he's dreaming about them!  =)